BIOL 497: Research Proposal

An academic journal is a type of periodical that scholars use to share new research. Each issue of an academic journal contains new content, and may include editorials, opinion pieces, reviews of books or software, articles that review existing literature on a special topic, and articles that describe an original research project undertaken by the author.

Peer Review in academic journals is a process that helps ensure that quality of that research. Peer reviewed articles may also be described as refereed articles or scholarly articles. 

The flowchart below illustrates the lifecycle of a peer reviewed article.

Peer Review in 3 Minutes, North Carolina State University Libraries: https://youtu.be/PLTOVoHbH5c

Your professor may use the terms scholarly article, academic article, or peer-reviewed article. But what does that mean? Essentially, these are research articles that have been published in scholarly journals. But what is a research article and how does it get published in a scholarly journal? Learn about research articles and the process for publication.

Not sure if your article is peer reviewed? Look for these clues:

Author. The author's credentials & institution should be listed. Authors of peer reviewed articles typically have graduate degrees and are a faculty member at a university.

Abstract. Many peer reviewed articles begin with an abstract, which is a paragraph summarizing the research.

Audience. Peer reviewed articles are written for scholars, researchers, & students who are knowledgeable about the topic, and likely use specialized terminology.

Purpose. What is the purpose of the article? Does the author want to support findings of a research project, present a case study, make an argument that is supported by evidence or research, etc.?

References. Peer reviewed articles typically include a bibliography that cites other peer reviewed sources.

Predatory journals are journals that exploit researchers by charging fees to publish research without providing rigorous peer review. This results in journals that claim to be peer-reviewed, but they publish research that may be low in quality. When you are searching for peer-reviewed articles, it's possible that you will come across an article that was published in a predatory journal. This can especially be an issue when you are using a search tool that does not curate content (such as Google Scholar).